Category Archives: Pro Wrestling

These are live spoilers and impressions from the fourth and final ROH TV taping filmed from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on June 23. This episode will air this weekend.

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WHAT TO WATCH: The Steel Cage Warfare match was awesome. Watch the whole thing. The visual of the streamers draped over the top of the cage was very cool.

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Match 1: The American Wolves def. Mike Sydal & guy I don’t recognize (he’s white with blonde hair, wore similar ring gear as Sydal and had a similar physique) in 5:40. This was a decent, competitive match. The blonde guy looked good during his two flurries with Davey.

The story of the match was Sydal’s team’s use high-flying maneuvers like Sydal’s top turnbuckle moonsault to the floor, his tilt-a-whirl spinning whirlwind DDT on Edwards and both men’s matrix-style dodges and tandem offense (like double hip tosses and dropkicks) while the Wolves used power and speed – dropkicks, chops, etc. After Sydal and Edwards traded elbows to the face, Davey came off the top with the double stomp for the pin.

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Usually ROH schedules the intermission between the 2nd and 3rd of the 4 TV tapings. But since they needed lots of time to set up the cage for the main event, they didn’t give us our 20 minute break until midway through the fourth taping. The audience was coming off hot show the night before at Best in the World, the weather was rather warm in Baltimore and we were on plastic chairs or unpadded bleachers the whole time. Overall, it was tough to get through. Thankfully, the main event was worth the inconvenience.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: S.C.U.M. played dirty by throwing salt in eyes, tying Elgin to the cage, having Matt Hardy and Steve Corino interfere and even using a fireball. When Steve Corino introduced lighter fluid, Jacobs tried to stop him. Kevin Steen took advantage and finished off Jacobs with the package piledriver to become the sole survivor.

[ Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer started the match. ]

Jacobs and Whitmer spent five minutes throwing each other into the cage. Whitmer’s suplex roll into a fisherman suplex got a two count.

[ Rhett Titus entered. ]

Whitmer threw Titus around the cage for a while.

[ Michael Elgin entered. ]

Titus and Jacobs attempted to take out Elgin, but he was too strong. Elgin delivered a double back suplex followed by his ridiculous Samoan drop/fallaway slam combination on both men. (crowd chanted for Elgin)

[ Cliff Compton entered. ]

Compton tossed salt in Elgin’s eyes and tied Elgin to the cage Tommy Dreamer-style. With Elgin incapacitated, Jacobs, Titus and Compton triple teamed Whitmer and hit a Young Bucks-style spike piledriver on him.

[ Whitmer was eliminated at 10:30 ]

[ Jay Lethal entered. ]

Lethal had a chair. Titus got hit, Compton got a dropkick version of the Van Daminator and Jacobs got the Lethal Combination onto it. Lethal took out a pair of clippers and freed Elgin.

Before Steen could enter the ring, Matt Hardy attacked him from behind and threw him into the barricade. With the cage door open, the men starting slipping out and the match just broke down. Jacobs slammed the cage door into Lethal’s head. Steen attacked Hardy with a chair. Elgin sideslammed Compton onto the exposed floor. Jacobs and Titus slid a table into the ring and leaned it up in the corner.

Back in the ring, Titus attempted a powerbomb on Lethal, but Jay slipped out the other side. He hit Titus with a superkick followed by a Lethal Injection.

Everyone got back in the ring. Compton tried to escape over the top of the cage, but Elgin followed. Elgin stood on the top turnbuckle, grabbed Compton off the cage and delivered a powerbomb into the middle of the ring. SICK! (crowd: this is awesome!)

[ Michael Elgin was eliminated. The match was down to Jacobs vs Steen. ]

Steen tried to powerbomb Corino, but Matt Hardy hit him with the Twist of Fate. With Jacobs out in the corner and Hardy stalking around, Corino reentered the ring with a briefcase. He opened it to reveal LIGHTER FLUID which he started spraying on Steen. (crowd: you sick fuck!) Jacobs implored Corino to stop, but Corino back elbowed him. As Corino tried to light the matches, Nigel McGuinness stormed the ring. Nigel and Corino faced off and threw off their clothing to prepare for a fight. Corino piefaced Nigel, but then Nigel clotheslined the hell out of him. The crowd went nuts.

Hardy kicked Nigel in the gut, but Steen was there to hit Hardy with the package piledriver. Nigel got up and threw Jacobs into Steen’s arms. Steen nailed another package piledriver and pinned Jacobs for three.

Streamers filled the ring. Nigel and Steen embraced. Kevin Kelly celebrated like a madman at ringside. Adam Cole came to the entrance ramp to observe. He surveyed the scene, rubbed his hands together for a few moments and returned backstage. Nigel continued to celebrate with fans at ringside. Steen mockingly shook Hardy’s limp hand and exited the ring.

(crowd: na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye)

NIGEL: It’s been a long time coming. The era of S.C.U.M. is over! Get these pieces of trash out of the ring. Out! Out! Out! (crowd: out out out)

Three officials drove Corino and Hardy out of the ring, through the crowd and straight out of the building.

(crowd: na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye)

Bobby Cruise announced that this was the most important event ROH history and reminded the live audience how they could watch ROH on local TV and encouraged us to visit rohwrestling.com. What a Wonderful World played as the crowd filed out.

These are live spoilers and impressions from the third ROH TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on June 23. This taping will air this weekend.

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WHAT TO WATCH: There are only two matches on this show. You’ll want to check out the main event for the ROH title, but I didn’t find it exciting live. We in the crowd suspected correctly that ROH wouldn’t change the title to Hardy at a TV taping, there were so many Twist of Fates they stopped mattering, and Jay was on defense most of the time. Not terrible, but not nearly as good as the main event of Best in the World. The Roderick Strong vs Adam Cole match was average for both of them. If you like their stuff normally, check it out.

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Match 1: Roderick Strong def. Adam Cole by DQ in 12 minutes – Adam Cole (who completely ignored an expectant Steve Corino on the way in) was scheduled to face Wes Ferrara, but before the match Roderick came to the ring.

RODERICK: Excuse me for a second. Adam, I really just wanted to come out here and get this off my chest. At Best in the World, I think you made a decision that wasn’t as honorable as you say you are. Adam, you’re the type of guy who comes in the locker room, shakes everybody’s hand and tells everybody that you’re their friend. But at Best in the World you had an opportunity to do the right thing, and that you didn’t do. You would think I would be mad at you, Adam, but the more and more I watched, the more I got disappointed.

(Adam Cole, slightly exasperated, beckoned for the microphone)

COLE: Roderick, since I started here I have prided myself on fighting with honor. When me and you faced each other at Best in the World, I saw the opportunity. I’d been so obsessed with wins and losses that when the chance for me to beat one of the very best in Ring of Honor, whether it be by countout, came, I took it. Roderick, if I disrespected you in any way or disrespected this company by not being honorable, I apologize.

COLE: (to Wes Ferrara) As a matter of fact, listen, you deserved your opportunity here tonight. You’re a very hard worker and I’d be happy to have this match with you at some point, but it cannot happen right now. Because I think the people of Baltimore would like to see a Best in the World rematch! (crowd: yes!) You guys want to see Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong right now? Roderick, I’m going to prove to you tonight that Adam Cole does have honor.

After two quick flurries led to standoffs, Adam Cole controlled Roderick at a slow pace with suplexes and submissions. But after a couple minutes, Roderick hit a big standing dropkick and took over with speed, power and precision. He nailed some nasty chops, a muay thai knee, running bulldog, backbreaker and Olympic slam.

Cole slipped over the top and forced Roderick’s back into the ringside apron. Worse for wear, but recovering quickly, Cole locked on the Figure 4. They fought to the top turnbuckle where Roderick executed the superplex. He followed with a spinning elbow and gutbuster, but Cole kicked out his legs and applied the Figure 4 again. Roderick reversed into a small package and then a Stronghold when that didn’t work. Cole kicked Roderick off, sending him into the referee.

With the ref down, both men rained elbows on the other. Roderick quit that game with a jumping knee to the face followed by a flurry of shots to the head. But Adam had just enough to connect with his own superkick. Now everyone was down.

Steve Corino ran to the apron, encouraging Cole to get up. He threw a chain in his direction, but Roderick picked it up instead. Cole, thinking that Roderick intended to hit him with it, grabbed the chain and crushed Roddy in head. The referee saw the shot and DQ’ed Cole. Adam shouted once loudly at Corino and stormed out.

CORINO: Ladies and gentlemen. The following contest is your television main event. It is set for one

fall. (he grabbed the ROH cover of the microphone and threw it to the ground) Introducing first, the icon, the living legend, beauty that has stepped foot in the ring, a man that has had eras named after him, a man that has invented more pro wrestling style matches than you can even count, a man that can walk on water(!), a man that is stronger than death, ladies and gentlemen, you all remember when JFK was popped in the head, you remember when that 9/11 thing happened…tonight you’re going to remember where you were when this man becomes the next, and final, Ring of Honor Champion. From Cameron, North Carolina, he weighs in tonight at 235.976 pounds. I give to you, your savior, Maaaaaaatttttt, Maaaaattttttt, MAAAAAAAAATTTTT HARDY!!!!!

(crowd: man up!)

HARDY (to Jay): You can’t stop it.

The story of the match was Matt Hardy’s working over of Jay Briscoe’s wrapped, injured left shoulder and bicep. Hardy ran Jay into the ringpost and barricade multiple times, hit a single arm DDT, elbowed him repeatedly in the back of the neck, torqued his arm over the top rope and then hit a Side Effect followed shortly thereafter by a Twist of Fate. Jay kicked out at two. He got some hope spots by hitting a superkick and neckbreaker, but Corino’s interference led to a second Twist of Fate. But still a two count! The champ won’t go down that easy!

(crowd: man up!)

Jay Driver out of nowhere! But only a two count. Jay decided he didn’t like Hardy’s ankle, so he stomped it so bad Hardy took his boot off…and promptly clunked Jay over the head with it. He then hit not one, but TWO more Twists of Fate to get the 1-2-NO! Jay kicked out! After a second turnbuckle suplex, the men traded shots on their knees. Matt quick gut-kicked Jay and went for a FIFTH Twist of Fate, but Jay quickly reversed into a small package to get the three count.

Rhino immediately hit the ring and gored Jay into early retirement. This drew Mark Briscoe out, but Corino just handful-of-quarters’ed him to the back of the skull. Elgin, Lethal and Whitmer raced out, but S.C.U.M. wrist-tied them to the bottom rope. S.C.U.M. placed the ROH Title around Matt Hardy’s waist while Rhino bludgeoned Mark with a chair. Then they placed Jay’s injured arm and shoulder in the chair.

CORINO: Finish Jay Briscoe once and for all. Whitmer, Elgin, Lethal, everybody – I want you to watch.

Matt Hardy jumped from the turnbuckle onto chair which obliterated Jay’s elbow. Nigel was screaming to get him out of there.

CORINO: Steel Cage Warfare. ROH not only dies, but ROH will burn.

KELLY: (to Matt Hardy) You broke his shoulder!

The ROH officials cut Elgin, Whitmer and Lethal loose.

NIGEL: Get them!

Elgin and Whitmer tended to the fallen Briscoes as everyone else raced to the back.

I have included a chart below which shows the negative viewership trend for TNA Impact over the past year. The ratings take a noticeable downward trend after the angle featuring Brook Hogan’s marriage to Bully Ray.

As a viewer with my own waning interest, I attribute this to the fact that (Bully Ray’s excellent work aside) the entire Aces & Eights angle makes no sense. Coupled with Hulk Hogan’s overexposure, it’s difficult to get emotionally invested. The rest of the card is fine, but nothing stands up and demands your attention. Thanks to Dave Scherer for gathering this information and posting it on www.pwinsider.com.

Here are live spoilers and impressions from the first Ring of Honor TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on June 23.

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WHAT TO WATCH: The ROH Television Title match between Matt Taven and Eddie Edwards is a fun, solid Eddie Edwards match. You probably won’t regret checking it out. Silas Young and Adam Page was short and intense enough to warrant a look as well.

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Dark Match: Wildman Kona? and Preach (he had Preach written on his tights) def. a young tag team (one guy had a GS with a star on his tights) I’ve never seen before in 4:30. This was your standard back and forth match until the Wildman came in. Wildman looks like Brodus Clay with half of his face covered in black and white war paint. He got the pin after a running splash in the corner followed by a big splash off the ropes.

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Match 1: C&C Wrestle Factory def. John Silver & Alex Reynolds in 5:30 – C&C demonstrated their experience and superiority early on by hitting whatever they wanted. Silver & Reynolds earned a small advantage over Coleman for about 90 seconds, but Cedric made the hot tag and cleaned house.

Seemingly out of nowhere Silver & Reynolds started chaining maneuvers – kicks into suplexes and the like and got the crowd behind them. But when Coleman threw Reynolds to the floor, this allowed him to hit the jumping hurricanrana followed by Cedric’s top rope splash on Silver for the pin. After the match, Adrenaline Rush stood on ramp applauding C&C, intimating that they were ready to challenge them when the time is right.

NIGEL: Every one of the wrestlers came out here and gave their all to make sure Ring of Honor is synonymous with the name of the PPV, Best in the World. And to me, nothing epitomizes that more than the two guys that came out here, that have built this company from the ground up. They overlooked family ties and took no shortcuts to decide on that night who was the best man. They did me proud. They did this company proud. They did their family proud. And most of all, they did themselves proud.

(crowd chants “Man up.”)

NIGEL: As I know only too well, the question isn’t how much you are willing to give. It’s how much you have left. Because after the show, in the back, Jay Briscoe reinjured his shoulder and messed up his back during the Froggy-bow through the table. Mark Briscoe took three Jay Drillers and suffered a very serious concussion. I just talked with the doctor and Mark Briscoe will not be cleared to represent ROH in Steel Cage Warfare.

(At the commentary position, Steve Corino is ecstatic.)

NIGEL: Which leaves the question, who do I put in that spot?

(crowd chants “Mr. Wrestling.” Kevin Steen’s music hits.)

STEEN: I’m not here to complain about Best in the World. I’m here because I need you, and they need you, to put me in Steel Cage Warfare. Just do it.

(crowd chants “Yes!”)

NIGEL: I hear what you’re saying and I hear what these people are saying, but you started S.C.U.M. You were the face of S.C.U.M. from day 1. (crowd: “People make mistakes.”) Now you want to come back and restore honor to this company? Why should I believe you?

STEEN: You’re looking for honor!? I’m looking for payback and to kick their asses! I started it, you’re right! And I’m going to finish it. I need to do this and you know you need me in there, so grow a pair and put me in the goddam match!

S.C.U.M. members Cliff Compton, Jimmy Jacobs, Rhino and Rhett Titus hit the ring. Nigel frantically summoned BJ Whitmer, Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal from the back. They brawled briefly before ROH officials broke it up. As the crowd chanted, “Let Steen fight,” Nigel asked his men whether they could trust Steen. All three were noncommittal.

STEEN: Whatever. (he leaves)

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Match 2: MsChif def. Veda Scott in a Woman of Honor Grudge Match in 5 minutes – Veda Scott, who the crowd was firmly behind, fought her heart out but was simply outmatched. MsChif threw Veda into the barricade numerous times, hit her with a German suplex on the floor, an inverted Bubba Bomb and finally a dangerous DDT when Veda was crotched over the middle ropes. Veda was pinned thereafter.

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Match 3: Adam Page def. Silas Young – A ringside fan held a sign noting the physical similarities between Silas Young and former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Cowher. The (presumably) Raven’s fan’s sign read, “From the NFL to ROH – Either way, Cowher still sucks.”

SILAS: Embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that I have to come out here after some woman’s match. Women don’t belong in the ring. They belong at home, cooking and cleaning. This is a man’s business. I look around this locker room and I don’t see any real man.

SILAS: I’m Silas Young. I’m the last real man in professional wrestling. And I intend on proving that to everyone, starting with you Adam Page. Look at you. You have that nice pretty curly hair. You look like you take longer to get ready in the morning than my wife does. You’re gonna find out what it’s like to be in the ring with a real man.

This match had a fast, hard-hitting tempo. The men threw each other into the barricade and ring post on the floor. When Silas mounted the corner of the barricade, Page met him and delivered a sick superplex onto the floor.

(crowd chants, “This is awesome.”)

Page followed with a top rope crossbody block, then Silas hit a backbreaker into a wicked kneeling lariat. After two reversals of go-behinds, Silas lifted Page off the ground by his shoulders. Before he could execute a faceplant, Page rolled through his legs and stole a pin. After the match, Silas shook Page’s hand but then kicked him in the gut and beat on his skull for a while. He was being a very bad man.

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Match 4: Matt Taven (with the HOT) retained the ROH Television Championship against Eddie Edwards in 11:20 – This was hot, back-and-forth action the whole way through. No feeling out process in this one.

After dropkicking Taven while he was hung over the top rope, Eddie decided to let some ringside fans hold Taven’s hands behind the barricade while he chopped him. In a less legally ambiguous move, he caught Taven in a bow and arrow, but Truth grabbed his foot for just a moment and Taven recovered.

Over the next several minutes no man could get a sustained advantage. Taven tried aerial and impact moves, while Eddie just chopped the hell out of him and clotheslined him to the floor. While the HOTties implored Taven to get up, Eddie ran corner to corner, somersaulted over the ring post and landed right on top of him.

Then Eddie took over. He hit a backpack chinbreaker, two enzuigiris, a faceplant, a top rope double-knee facebreaker and a double stomp onto Taven’s back. (crowd chanted “This is wrestling.”) Truth Martini flipped out and distracted the referee while the redheaded HOTtie slid the title belt to Taven. Eddie ducked Taven’s attempted cheap shot and countered into a single leg crab. Taven kicked him off towards the ropes, but Eddie had to stop short to avoid hitting the dark-haired HOTtie on the apron. Taven quickly acted on the distraction and hit the underhook DDT for a 3 count. Afterwards, Eddie Edwards got a standing ovation.

BOBBY CRUISE: We have a tradition of throwing streamers at the beginning of matches. But we ask that you please refrain from throwing things at any other times because it looks awful on TV.

I just wanted to share some of the photos and videos I took during Wrestlemania 29 at Met Life Stadium on April 7, 2013. WWE doesn’t allow you to take in any lenses longer than 6 inches (i.e. the ones with telescopic zoom), so everything here is wide angle. I was also constrained to one position inside the stadium, but given that limitation I think things turned out OK. (For those reading this through an email update, click the link above to view this content on the website itself.)

First, you’ll want to check out the video of the pyrotechnics displays, which were actually quite cool.

Next, click on the image below to see an interactive panorama of Met Life Stadium taken before the start of the show.

Here is a small collection of photographs of the event taken throughout the evening.

Here are live spoilers and impressions from the episode of ROH TV that will air this weekend. The episode is the fourth TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on February.

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WHAT TO WATCH: The four corners survival main event between Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, Michael Elgin and Matt Hardy is the only thing worth checking out on the show. While it doesn’t quite rise to the level of being spectacular, it’s definitely a quality match with some great Davey Richards offense in the middle.

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Match 1: Eddie Edwards def. Rhett Titus in 10 minutes – This was kind of a mess and everyone knew it. The two didn’t click and Rhett was so sloppy the crowd started turning on him. There was one spot where Rhett kick Eddie’s feet out from underneath him while Eddie was pursuing him up the turnbuckles. Eddie smashed his head into the turnbuckle and the crowd seemed frightened that he was seriously injured. In the end, Rhett refused to tap to the single leg crab, so Eddie kicked him in the head until there was a ref stoppage.

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Match 2: MsChif def. Mia Yim in 6 minutes – MsChif earned control for the majority of the match through ranas, flips, an STO elbow drop and a release German. Mia busted out the tarantula and a leveraged armbar over the top rope, but missed a variation of the Spiral Tap. Mia’s fisherman suplex got a two count, but MsChif returned with a scissored DDT for the pin.

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Match 3: Michael Elgin def. Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Matt Hardy in a four corners survival match in 17:30 minutes – There were two stories in this match. First, Michael Elgin was chomping at the bit to get his hands on Roderick Strong, who constantly tried to avoid him. Second, Matt Hardy had the match won at one point, but the ref was out of position. Matt spent the remainder of the match complaining loudly to Nigel that the match should be over. The work itself was above average, as you would expect.

Here are some additional details. Davey and Roderick started off with a great series of counters. Roderick locked Davey in some Indian Deathlock variant. Davey reversed into a single leg crab until Matt Hardy broke it up.

Matt and Roderick worked over Davey until Elgin charged in. Matt and Roderick did their own version of Poetry in Motion once, but during the second attempt Davey rolled Matt through for a two count. Davey then proceeded to execute some EXCELLENT two-on-one offense that’s worth checking out.

At this point, the match turned into a melee. Elgin finally got his hands on Roderick, but Matt intervened. Davey hit a superplex then fought with Elgin. All four men executed their signature moves on one another in a frenzy of attacks and break-ups.

As Davey watched Roderick backbody drop Elgin onto the ring apron, Matt hit the Twist of Fate for much more than a three count, but the ref was distracted on the outside. Matt was infuriated, yelling at Nigel, “You saw it! I won! I won! It’s over! End the match!” Eventually Matt got whipped into the corner and fell to the floor.

Back in the ring, Roderick’s sick kick on Elgin missed, and Elgin hit him with a massive bitch slap. He nailed the bucklebomb followed by the spinning powerbomb. He got the pinfall moments before Davey could break it up.

These are spoilers and impressions from the episode of ROH TV that will air this weekend. The episode is the third TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on February.

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WHAT TO WATCH: The main event for the tag team titles is worth checking out, especially since the losing team had to disband. The rest of the show contained squash matches and an interview between Nigel and Matt Hardy regarding the Television Title.

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Match 1: Steve Corino and Rhino def. The Flatliners (Asylum & Matt Burns) in 4.5 minutes. This was your basic squash. The Flatliners have tagged for years and their coordination showed. Corino had some really good crowd work. In the end it was GORE GORE GORE on Asylum. After the match, Rhino and Corino beat up one of the ROH Dojo guys assisting at ringside.

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Nigel McGuinness comes to the ring.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Nigel McGuinness accused Matt Hardy of having no honor due to his attacks on Adam Cole and subsequent theft of the ROH Television Title Belt. He announced that Hardy will get his one-on-one match with Adam Cole in two week’s time on ROH TV. However, that match will only be for the Television Title if Hardy proves he can fight with honor. He’ll get that chance next week in a four corners survival match with Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and Davey Richards.

NIGEL: Matt Hardy, I know you can hear me. You’ve been parading around all day today with the Television Title around your waist. You obviously want everybody to see it, so why don’t you come out here and show the world?

Mat Hardy came to the ring with the Television Title on his shoulder.

CROWD: Feed Matt more! Feed Matt more!

NIGEL: You’re a grown man and you’re acting like a spoiled child. The worst thing is – you stole that belt, pure and simple. You think I’m going to let that go? You have another thing coming. I brought you out here now to tell you, give me that belt back or I’m going to have somebody take it from you.

MATT: Let me tell you what should be painfully obvious. I beat Adam Cole 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring, so I should be Television Champion right now. Furthermore, I defeated BJ Whitmer. Then I was attacked by Adam Cole not once, not twice, but multiple times. I only used the title belt to defend myself. You know that. I took the title with me to stop the little bitch from hitting me again.

MATT: I see you wanting to punish me. Why don’t you punish Adam Cole? Oh, I know why. Because he’s one of your friends. I’m not one of your favorites, because you’re jealous of me. I can see the jealousy in your eyes.

NIGEL: Matt, why wouldn’t I be jealous of you? You’ve had a fantastic career. You had the type of career I dreamed of as a child. But maybe you’re jealous of me because I’m only one of ten Ring of Honor champions in company history. I was one of the most critically acclaimed professional wrestlers in this sport.

NIGEL: Listen, this isn’t about you. This isn’t about me. This is about this belt and the fact that you now have a problem with me. To better resolve that, in two week’s time on Ring of Honor TV you will have a one-on-one match with Adam Cole.

MATT: Outstanding! That’s all I was looking for. And you know what, Nigel? I’m even going to hand this title back to you, because in two weeks the wrestling icon Matt Hardy will officially be the Television Champion of Ring of Honor.

NIGEL: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I set you’d get a one-on-one match. I didn’t say you’d get a Television title shot…just yet. If you’re going to win this title it’s going to be with honor, because that’s what this company is about – Ring of Honor.

NIGEL: Next week on Ring of Honor TV, you’re going to have that opportunity in a four corners survival match with you, Matt Hardy, against Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and Davey Richards. If you prove to me that you can fight with honor, then the following week against Adam Cole, this belt will be on the line.

Matt: Ok, Nigel. I’ll prove to you that I can fight with honor. I just hope that when I win next week, you keep your word. I’ll prove that I’m a man of my word. I hope you’ll do the same.

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Match 2: Grizzly Redwood vs. Vinny Marseglia is a no contest. Mike Mondo was on commentary. Kevin Steen came to the ring and interrupted before things got started.

STEEN: [to Marseglia] Get out.

Marseglia balked.

STEEN: You have guts. I respect that.

Steen offered to shake Marseglia’s hand. Then he kicked him in the gut and nailed the pocket piledriver. Grizzly Redwood looked on, stunned.

STEEN: You know something, Redwood? Sometimes opportunities come out of nowhere. You have to be smart enough to recognize it and take it. Now I have my reasons for doing what I’m doing right now. I’m giving you a match right now. What do you say?

Redwood accepted.

Match 2 (the real one): Kevin Steen def. Grizzly Redwood in 4 minutes. This was basically another squash. Redwood tried to get his offense it, but he was just too small. Steen hit some huge sentons and a fade away slam into the ring barricade. The crowd winced as Steen nailed a nasty powerbomb onto the ring apron. He finished things off with the F-Cinq. Steen helped Redwood back to his feet after the match.

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Match 3: The Briscoes def. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team in a match for the ROH World Tag Team Championships. Per the stipulation of the match, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team must now disband. This was a solid, hard hitting match. The crowd launched into “man up” and “fuck you Charlie” chants. They reallllllly hate Charlie Haas.

These teams fought with the animus you’d expect. Mark Briscoe tried unsuccessfully to bring a chair in the ring. Shelton dropped one of the Briscoes back first onto the barricade. Charlie took Cheeseburger and threw him into the barricade, drawing out three officials to carry him to the back.

The Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device on Charlie, but Shelton pulled the ref out of the ring. Shelton and Mark traded shots in the ring until Shelton did his leaping top rope overhead suplex for a two count.

Then, in what was definitely the coolest spot of the match, Shelton did the famous HBK spot in reverse. As Mark sprung off the top rope at him, Shelton nailed the superkick drawing a big reaction from the crowd. A double powerbomb on Mark was fruitless as Jay pulled the ref out of the ring. Shelton fought out of a Doomsday Device attempt and hit a big Paydirt on on Jay.

Charlie returned to the ring and hit the Olympic Slam on Shelton! As the turncoat walked to the back, Mark hit the froggy elbow for the 1-2-3. Charlie ripped a WGTT T-shirt up, flipped the crowd the bird and literally said “fuck you” to everybody.

CROWD: Thank you, Shelton! Thank you, Shelton! Hey, hey, hey goodbye!

The crowd offered Shelton a solid round of applause for what will likely be his final Ring of Honor match.

These are live spoilers and impressions from the episode of ROH TV that will air this weekend. The episode is the third TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on February.

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WHAT TO WATCH: The main event tag team match between the American Wolves & Michael Elgin vs. Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong is excellent. Watch it. The interviews are nothing special so reading the recaps is sufficient. The Top Prospect finals is solid, not spectacular. Watch the end, though, for a storyline development.

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Kevin Steen comes to the ring for an interview.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Kevin Steen explains that he didn’t hate ROH. He hated what Jim Cornette had done to it. Now that Jay Lethal has run Cornette out of the company, he’s proud of ROH again. Steen is willingly putting his title at stake but is confident that Lethal cannot defeat him.

KEVIN STEEN: Ring of Honor has been through a lot of changes, and not necessarily for the better, at least not a first. Because in 2010 this company wasn’t about pro wrestling anymore. This company became about one man – Jim Cornette. I wasn’t smiling last year, I wasn’t proud of [my ROH Championship] victory. I wasn’t happy that I was ROH Champion. The only reason I wanted this was because I thought it would help me kill this company. And I didn’t want to kill this company because I hated it. I love ROH. I always have. And that’s exactly why I wanted to kill it. I wanted to put it out of its misery because of what Jim Cornette was doing to it.

KEVIN STEEN: ROH was never meant to be a playground for a 50 year old jackass trying to relive his glory days. Ring of Honor was about young, talented wrestlers busting their asses to prove they belong in this industry. And the truth is, since Jim Cornette’s gone, this company is exactly about what it should be – and that’s pro wrestling. And you can call me a lot of things. You can say I’m sick. You can say I’m an asshole. But you can’t say I don’t love pro wrestling, because I’ve dedicated my life to it. I’ve bled for it. I’ve cried for it. And I’m not sorry I’m consumed. Since Jim Cornette’s departure, I’ve cared about this company and I’m proud to be Ring of Honor World Champion.

KEVIN STEEN: So Jay Lethal, that’s why I’m giving you the title shot even though I don’t have to. Because you deserve it. But hey, as talented as you are, you don’t deserve it because you’re a great wrestler or because you’ve beaten a lot of great wrestlers, because truthfully, you’re the one who got rid of Jim Cornette! But Jay, let me make this clear. Since winning this, I’ve beaten Eddie Edwards. I’ve beaten Davey Richards. I’ve beaten Roderick Strong. I’ve beaten Rhino. I’ve beaten Michael Elgin. I’ve beaten El Generico just to name a few. I’ve put myself through hell. And now, more than ever, I will do everything and anything to keep this title. [speaking directly into the camera] And Jay Lethal, what makes you think you can beat me? The truth is…you can’t beat me.

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Match 1: Matt Taven def. Tadarius Thomas in the finals of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 9 minutes and will receive a TV Title match at Chicago Ridge. Truth Martini wandered around ringside during this match. This was a back and forth contest where Taven employed his usual collection of high spots and Thomas executed his capoeira. Things were a little sloppy at points (you can see why these guys aren’t full fledged members of the roster yet), but the match never fell apart.

Early on, Taven focussed on Thomas’s abdominal area. He hit a really nice springboard twisting leg drop and deftly countered Thomas’s offense. Truth grabbed at Taven’s leg allowing Thomas to hit a back heel kick and clothesline. Is Thomas in cahoots with Martini?

Thomas hit a handstand windmill kick. They traded haymakers but Thomas nailed a tiger suplex for a two count. The ref got knocked down. Truth Martini removed his boot and threw it to Thomas. Thomas picked up the boot and threw it right back and Truth.

TRUTH: [throwing the boot back in the ring] What are you doing!? Hit him with it!

Taven led Thomas into the ropes where Truth nailed him in the head with the Book of Truth. Taven covered for the three count!

As Taven celebrated, Truth ran in and kneeled next to him. Truth extended his hand, but Taven stepped away. Truth grabbed Taven by the shoulder and whispered something in his ear for several seconds. Whatever Truth said, Taven liked it because he shook his hand and they celebrated together, much to Truth’s delight. As he was leaving, Taven grabbed a sign at ringside that said “the truth will set you free.”

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Jay Lethal is in the ring for an interview.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Lethal thinks it’s great that Kevin Steen has turned a new leaf, but he also thinks Steen is full of shit. Jay promises he won’t fall prey to his mind games.

JAY LETHAL: I want to talk to the world champ. Kevin Steen, you were out here earlier and it’s great that you had a change of heart. I think it’s great that you now love Ring of Honor and you want to be an honorable champion. All of these things are great. But Kevin, I also think that you’re full of shit.

These are live spoilers and impressions from the episode of Ring of Honor TV that will air this weekend. The episode is the first TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on February.

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WHAT TO WATCH: Matt Taven vs. Silas Young is the highlight of the show. Thomas versus Marshall had a lot of energy. The main event of Lethal vs. Jacobs had some good spots, but it didn’t stand out as anything you need to see.

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Dark Match: Brutal Bob def. Vinny Marseglia in 5 minutes – This came off as a squash match for Brutal Bob, who looked stiff and tough as hell. Vinny got in a couple of decent moves like a twisting senton off the second rope, but Bob dominated. As Vinny came off the top rope Bob delivered a wicked shoulder block. He hit some vicious chops and a deadlift slam. When Vinny went for a Stinger Splash, Bob just caught him and threw him down. Bob rolled him up and, not that he needed to, grabbed Vinny’s tights for the win.

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Match 1: Tadarius Thomas def. QT Marshall in the semifinals of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 6.5 minutes – Truth Martini was on commentary. Before the match, QT was pelted with toilet paper. He laughed it off. Marshall is doing a better job getting heel heat as the crowed was all over him. As they chanted, “QT sucks,” one guy in the front row yelled, “I think you’re doing a great job,” which got a laugh from the crowd.

Both men looked inspired during this match. Thomas’s capoeira style served him well. He used it to generate some clever counters. QT drove Thomas back first into the ring post, but Thomas recovered. He delivered three kicks to Marshall who responded with his own kick to the chest. Ultimately, Thomas locked in what looked like a version of the Florida Key where he looped QT’s arms in his without the wristlock and nailed the German suplex for the pin.

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Match 2: Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander and Nick Westgate & Brian Fury go to a no contest after 1 minute – Coleman did a big dive off the top rope to the floor. As Cedric looked to do something similar, he turned around to gain momentum by bouncing off the rope and ran right into a gore from Rhino. Steve Corino, who came out encouraging Rhino, entered the ring, elbowed Coleman in the head and grabbed the mic.

CORINO: Since the day that we formed S.C.U.M. the mission has never and will never change. I’m warning all of you. On March 2, from Chicago Ridge on PPV, evil is coming. Ring of Honor dies.

Corino backed up the ramp with Rhino following intensely behind. The refs ran out to tend to Coleman.

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Match 3: Matt Taven def. Silas Young in the semifinals of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 5.5 minutes – Silas was sporting a mustache that made him look like a villain from Walker: Texas Ranger. As the crowd threw stuff at him, Silas caught it and threw it right back. Taven was over and well supported by the fans in attendance.

Overall, this was a fun match worth watching. The tenor was a lot of back and forth based on counters and taunts. Things were a little sloppy at points, but it was still good stuff. Some highlights were when Taven sprung over the top from the apron only to be caught and slammed by Silas. Taven performed a beautiful (and scary looking) moonsault from the second rope onto Silas on the outside. Taven missed a top rope frog splash, Silas hit a spinning neckbreaker and went for the big lariat. Taven ducked and rolled him up for the pin. Cool finish.

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Ring announcer Bobby Cruise made the announcement that ROH has a tradition of throwing streamers and toilet paper, but please refrain from throwing cupcakes. Bizarre.

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Match 4: Jay Lethal def. Jimmy Jacobs in 8 minutes – The crowd was very pro-Lethal. The match started as a slugfest on the outside, where Jimmy set Jay up on a chair, tried a Tope, missed and crashed into the chair. Back in the ring, Jimmy speared Jay coming off the top, but Jay responded with a Lethal Combination. Jay took too long and Jimmy hit him with a superkick, went for what looked like a Lethal Injection, but turned it into a Codebreaker followed by Sliced Bread, but Jay was in the ropes. Two count.

Jimmy’s top rope hurricanrana was blocked. Jay responded with a running Death Valley Driver and Hail to the King for the three count.

Immediately, Corino and Rhino charged the ring. Cedric Alexander ran out to make the save but Rhino KILLED him with a Gore. Rhino set up Lethal for the same, but Kevin Steen ran out and stood between them. He told Jimmy to back off. Steen looked at Jay and extended his hand to help him up. Jay just backed off. After, Corino and Steen seemed to be having a verbal disagreement in the ring.

Here are live spoilers and impressions from the episode of ROH TV that will air this weekend. The episode is the third TV taping from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on January 5.

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WHAT TO WATCH: If you’re short on time, the main event tag team gauntlet match is worth it, especially if you like the American Wolves.

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Match 1: Tadarius Thomas def. Antonio Thomas in the 1st round of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 5 minutes – Strangely, Antonio came off as the bigger star in this match. He was one step ahead of Tadarius the whole way until one countered move cost him. Tadarius hit a top rope swinging neckbreaker and got the pin. During the match, Truth Martini wandered to the ring to observe.

RODERICK: Grizzly, I know you know this – you facing me tonight is a big deal. But I also know that you know me facing you is a small deal. [anger from crowd and Grizzly growing] Hey, hey, don’t take it like that! But Grizzly, not just in wrestling, but in life you have to understand that you’re just always going to come up short.

Grizzly attacked Roderick furiously, but Roderick rushed him, kneed him and just brushed it off. Grizzly worked his usual, technically-above-average match with some great moves and excellent counters. Roderick was clever, though, and worked his way out of everything.

Roderick’s hit a muay thai knee, running forearm in the corner and Death by Roderick in succession for, surprisingly, only a two count. Grizzly’s quick roll-up came up short. Roderick countered with a wicked jumping knee, standing vertical into a backbreaker followed by the Strong Hold. Grizzly tapped out.

Michael Elgin came to the ring to run off Roderick. Strong just backed up the ramp flexing.

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Match 3: Michael Elgin def. Mike Bennett (with Maria and Brutal Bob) in 6 minutes – Michael Elgin played the babyface. He called for support from the crowd and the crowd chanted his name. While there were definitely some powerful back and forth moves, Elgin ran the match the way he wanted to with his usual collection of power spots.

Bennett went for the cradle piledriver while yelling “Jerry Lynn”, but ended up throwing Elgin to the floor. He followed with a running shoulder block from the apron. Elgin recovered and tried his dead lift suplex from the second turnbuckle into the ring. Maria grabbed Bennett’s leg to stop the move, so Elgin set her up for it. Bob grabbed Maria’s leg, allowing Bennett to recover. He hit a Rock Bottom from the second rope for a two count.

Elgin fought back, hitting the bucklebomb and spinning powerbomb (though he really had to fight to get him up) for the pin.

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Match 4: Tag Team gauntlet match for the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Championship. The American Wolves got a HUGE positive reaction and were mega-over for the entire match. Fans were sporadically chanting for both Davey and Eddie.

The American Wolves def. The Bravado Brothers in 7 minutes – Charlie Haas came out to observe. Davey got Lance in his version of the Trailer Hitch and Eddie cheated by wrenching back on Davey for added pressure. The match devolved into a tornado tag. The Wolves chained super/spin/stereo kicks into ankle lock/single leg crab submissions. The Bravados got two counts by reversing into pin attempts. Everything broke down and the action was fast, furious and awesome. Davey grapevined the ankle lock on Harlem who had to tap out.

The American Wolves def. Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs in 2.5 minutes – The match settled down. Corino used cheap tactics like punching the Wolves as they bounced off the ropes and hitting a low blow. Corino went for the Texas lariat, but Eddie (incredibly) ducked and rolled him back for a crucifix-style pin. Furious, Corino hit the Wolves with a roll of quarters.

Kyle O’Reilly and BobbyFish def. The American Wolves in 6 minutes – With the Wolves totally laid out, Fish and O’Reilly sauntered to the ring with shit-eating grins on their faces. Back to a conventional tag match, Eddie fought back with great Eddie offense. Davey recovered and delivered about 18 kicks to the chest. He pinballed Fish and O’Reilly and absolutely killed Kyle with a release German and big clothesline.

With Fish out on the floor, the Wolves hit two top rope double-stomps on Kyle for a two count. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome!” Fish and O’Reilly isolated Eddie and took him out with Total Elimination. They followed with their kick-to-the-chest brainbuster finish and got the win to become the #1 contenders for the ROH Tag Team Championship. This totally deflated the crowd. Fish and O’Reilly celebrate their win and intimate that they will soon hold the belts.

About Me

Hi, I’m Mike Specian. I am currently a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow hosted at the U.S. Department of Energy. This site is a repository for things that matter to me including science, energy, climate, public policy, and photography from around the world. You can follow me on Twitter, through an RSS feed or by subscribing to email updates below.